Risa Hontiveros says gov't response to Maute an 'overkill'

Liberal Party and Senate opposition member Senator Risa Hontiveros believes the government did not take the right approach to address the crisis in Marawi City.

In an interview on the program Get it Straight with Daniel Razon, Hontiveros said President Rodrigo Duterte should not have declared martial law in the entire Mindanao.

She explained that the President has other options aside from placing the entire region under military control.

The lady senator also insisted on the holding of a joint session in the Senate to clarify the reasons for the decision of the Chief Executive.

“Even in the parameters of martial law, is that rebellion? We are the ones who initiated, and did the city government of Marawi break its allegiance to the government and join the Maute? Obviously, it did not. Is it invasion or rebellion?” Hontiveros said.

Amid the ongoing operation of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police in Marawi City, the senator calls on the government to always take into consideration the safety and civil liberties of civilians.